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Piero Taruffi

Italian racing driver (1906–1988)

Piero Taruffi

Born	(1906-10-12)12 October 1906 Albano Laziale, Kingdom of Italy
Died	12 January 1988(1988-01-12) (aged 81) Rome, Italy
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Italian
Active years	1950 – 1956
Teams	Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Maserati, Vanwall
Entries	18
Championships	0
Wins	1
Podiums	5
Career points	41
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	1
First entry	1950 Italian Grand Prix
First win	1952 Swiss Grand Prix
Last win	1952 Swiss Grand Prix
Last entry	1956 Italian Grand Prix

Piero Taruffi (12 October 1906 – 12 January 1988) was an Italian racing driver. He raced in Formula One from 1950 to 1956, winning the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix and finishing 3rd in the 1952 World Drivers' Championship. His most notable motorsports victory was the 1957 Mille Miglia, the final running of the cross-country sports car race.

Beginnings[edit]

Taruffi began his motorsport career racing motorcycles. He won the 1932 500cc European Championship on a Norton and in 1937 set the motorcycle land speed record at 279.503 km/h (173.68 mph).

Sports cars[edit]

Taruffi drove a newly introduced 2-litre, 4-cylinder Ferrari in the 1951 Bari Grand Prix, finishing third behind Juan Manuel Fangio and Froilán González. He completed the 360 km race with a time of 2 hours 58 minutes 40 3/5 seconds.^[1] In November 1951 Taruffi participated in the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico. He finished first in the opening leg from Mexico CitytoLeón, Guanajuato, a 267-mile (430 km) leg. Taruffi led second-placed Troy Ruttman by more than four minutes. Taruffi trimmed a further 15 minutes on the Mexico City-Leon leg and another 21 minutes between Leon and Durango. In the process he climbed from 12th to third overall.^[2] Taruffi and Luigi Chinetti eventually won the race on 25 November, with a time of 21:57:52. His average speed was 87.6 mph (140.97 km/h).^[3]

Taruffi set a world record for 50 miles (80 km) in an auto of 22^{[citation needed]} cubic centimetre (1.3 in³) displacement in January 1952. He attempted a 100-mile (160 km) record but his motor failed after 98 miles (158 km).^[4] Taruffi was in a two-litre Ferrari for the running of the third Grand Prix de France, in Paris in May 1952. He captured first place with a time of three hours over a distance of 285 miles (459 km). His average speed was 95 mph (153 km/h).^[5] Taruffi placed second to Fangio in the 1953 Carrera Panamericana, with a time of 18:18:51 in a Lancia D24. His time was better than the previous year when he was victorious.^[6] In March 1954, Taruffi lost the 12 hours of Sebring with an hour to go, after having led the first three hours, when his Lancia stopped. He pushed it to the pits and team mechanics began working on it with diligence. Taruffi was still out of the car when the O.S.C.A. shared by Stirling Moss and Bill Lloyd crossed the finish line. Taruffi had averaged 81.1 miles per hour (130.5 km/h) before he retired.^[7] Taruffi won the 1,080-kilometre (670 mi) Giro di Sicilia in April 1954. His time of 10 hours 24 minutes 37 seconds established a record for an event which opened Italy's sports car racing season. It was 14 years old at the time. He averaged 64.4 miles per hour (103.6 km/h) in a Lancia D24.^[8]

Taruffi and Harry Schell placed fifth overall at Sebring in 1955 , driving a Ferrari 750 Monza.^[9] Taruffi claimed first place in a Ferrari, at the 1955 Tour of Sicily, with an overall time of 10 hours 11 minutes 19.4 seconds, with an average speed of 105.998 kilometres per hour (65.864 mph).^[10] Taruffi dropped out of the 1955 Mille Miglia, when he suffered a broken oil pump on the course north of Rome. He and eventual winner, Stirling Moss, were vying for the lead in the early stages of the race.^[11] Cesare Perdisa won by 22 seconds in the 1955 Grand Prix of Imola, driving a two-litre Maserati. Taruffi spun his car into a straw bale at the edge of the track on the first lap. He was uninjured, though his car was damaged, and he was forced to retire from the race.^[12] Jean Behra and Taruffi teamed to secure a fifth-place finish in a Maserati at the 1956 Sebring 12 hours.^[13] Taruffi established a world record for Class E cars in June 1956. He raced 100 miles (160 km) in 46 minutes 27.2 seconds, an average of 129.9 miles per hour (209.04 km/h).^[14] Also at Monza, Taruffi broke the one-hour mark of 212.543 kilometres per hour (132.074 mph). A third record he performed was for 200 kilometres. His time was 53 minutes 14.5 seconds.^[15] In the 17th running of the Tour of Sicily, in 1957, Taruffi had a small crash while in pursuit of leader Olivier Gendebien. He touched the wall in Gioiosa Marea but continued in his Maserati. Gendebien won in a Ferrari. During the event, J. Olivari was burned to death when his Maserati hit a wall on the course.^[16]

Taruffi's last victory was at the 1957 Mille Miglia, the last competitive edition of the Italian race, where he won in a Ferrari 315 S.^[17] At the race, Alfonso de Portago suffered a tire failure and crashed his car into the crowd, killing himself, his co-driver Edmund Nelson, and nine spectators. Following this, Taruffi officially retired from competitive racing. He was 50 years of age.^[18]

Formula One[edit]

Taruffi participated in 18 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 3 September 1950. Taruffi drove a Ferrari to victory in the May 1952 Swiss Grand Prix. He led from the start, with the Ferrari of Rudolf Fischer coming in second.^[19] Over the course of six seasons he scored a total of 41 championship points. He also participated in numerous non-championship Formula One races. His best season was 1952 where he finished third behind Giuseppe Farina and World Champion Alberto Ascari.

Stock cars[edit]

Taruffi drove a Ford stock car owned by Floyd Clymer of Los Angeles in the 2,000-mile (3,200 km) Pan-American race held in November 1954.^[20]

Other Ventures[edit]

In 1959 Taruffi authored the book The Technique of Motor Racing. In November 1957 the Saturday Evening Post published Taruffi's article, Stop us before we kill again, where he discussed the 1955 Le Mans and 1957 Mille Miglia races where drivers and numerous spectators lost their lives.^[21]

In August 1952 Taruffi designed and patented a racing car with the entry 2,608, 264. The car featured three torpedo-shaped parallel bodies joined together. Independent twin motors and wheels were in the two larger bodies, at left and right. The driver and the passengers sit in the car's central part. The central portion is both higher and smaller than the others. Taruffi commented on the low wind resistance and low centre of gravity of his design.^[22] Taruffi died in Rome in 1988, age 81.

Legacy[edit]

The Piero Taruffi Museum is located in Bagnoregio, a small town between Viterbo and Orvieto in Central Italy. The museum collection includes a selection of vintage cars and motorbikes from Taruffi's racing career.

In the 2023 biographical sports drama film Ferrari, Taruffi is portrayed by American actor Patrick Dempsey.

Complete World Championship Grand Prix results[edit]

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

* Indicates shared drive with Juan Manuel Fangio

† Indicates shared drive with Paul Frère

Non-Championship Formula One results[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

References[edit]